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Gregg Popovich, greatest coach ever? Title would help

Eddie Johnson breaks down Gregg Popovich's legacy and how he will be amongst the greatest coaches. (USA TODAY Sports)

Sam Amick, USA TODAY Sports
8:51 a.m. EDT June 5, 2014

Merrillville-raised Spurs coach going after fifth NBA title.

San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan, left and head coach Gregg Popovich talk during basketball practice on Wednesday, June 4, 2014 in San Antonio. The Spurs play Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat on Thursday.(Photo: Tony Gutierrez AP)

SAN ANTONIO — In those rare times when Larry Brown can get San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich to talk about himself during their almost-daily conversations, there's one story that never gets any less painful no matter how many times they tell it.

It's the overlooked what-if sequence from the infamous Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals, the moment just after Ray Allen's miraculous three-pointer with five seconds left in regulation that tied it 95-95 and before the overtime that gave the Miami Heat the win and, eventually, the series. As Popovich swung his arms like a wild man and implored his team to respond with a quick-hitting fast break, the officials stopped the action in order to review video and make sure Allen's feet were behind the line.

"A stupid rule," Brown, now Southern Methodist's men's basketball coach after a long NBA career, told USA TODAY Sports. "Pop and I have talked about it all the time. You're down one, or you're tied or you're down two, you rush it right away."

The Heat set their defense and took a proverbial deep breath during the break. Tony Parker airballed a falling jumper out of the timeout when LeBron James nudged him toward the baseline. And Miami survived in the most dramatic of ways. The legacies of James, Dwyane Wade and the rest of the Heat would be buoyed by their second consecutive title just two days later, while this Spurs group that was universally seen as special would fall short for the sixth consecutive season.

"But they weathered that storm, and now they're back with another chance," said Brown, the former Spurs coach who gave Popovich his first NBA job as an assistant in 1988. "I think it's just remarkable."

Ask members of both teams, and they'll say that all this talk of legacies is plain silly. But there are only so many ways to measure the meaningfulness of one's time in the NBA, and the ability to win it all is indisputably relevant when it comes to quantifying all these wondrous careers.

Yet as Brown pointed out, Popovich, who grew up in Merrillville, may be the only key member of this Spurs' group whose place in hoops history could change significantly by winning another title. Duncan is already regarded by most as the best power forward to ever play the game, a distinction that won't change if he can't win his fifth championship. Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili are tremendous talents and unforgettable supporting stars regardless of what happens in these next three weeks.

But if Popovich can win a fifth championship, thereby tying Heat architect Pat Riley (Los Angeles Lakers, Heat) and John Kundla (Minneapolis Lakers) for third on the all-time list, his already-exalted status undoubtedly would reach a whole new level.

"I hear people so many times (say) that '(Duncan is) the best power forward to ever play,'" Brown said. "But I don't hear people say enough that (Popovich) is maybe the best coach to ever coach."

It's a controversial stance to take, to be sure, as well as a subjective one. Phil Jackson could chuckle at the notion based on the basic math alone, as his 11 championships still would be more than double Popovich's total. The Boston Celtics faithful surely don't agree, as beloved Red Auerbach is second with nine.

But Popovich's sustained success is what sets him apart, drawing apt comparisons to Auerbach in the sense that he has partnered with a particular player (Duncan is his Bill Russell) for such an impressive stretch. Their first championship was in 1999, and the Spurs have the best record of any professional sports team in North America ever since.

It's the way he did it that sets him apart as well, with the Air Force Academy product-turned-Division III coach-turned-Brown disciple partnering with owner Peter Holt and general manager R.C. Buford to succeed in this selfless culture. Duncan disputed the notion that Popovich ultimately might be overlooked in terms of his greatness, but another ring certainly wouldn't hurt.

"I doubt his place in coaching history will be overlooked," Duncan said. "I don't think that's a question in any way. I think he'll be just fine. I don't think he's worried about where people place him. His desire, just like ours, is to get another one. His desire, just like ours — his disappointment, just like ours, is letting one slip away last year. So we're back here again and we'll continue to build on it and hopefully walk out of here with another one."

Yet as painful as Game 6 was, Popovich knows as well as anyone that he has had his share of good fortune. If San Antonio big man David Robinson hadn't suffered back and foot injuries in the 1996-97 season, the Spurs never would have landed in the draft lottery that following June. And had the basketball gods not been so cruel to Rick Pitino's Celtics — along with Brown's Philadelphia 76ers — and passed them up for the No. 1 pick, then who knows where Popovich's story may have taken him.

He's already one of the greats as it is. But one more title would make a world of difference in how he's remembered.

"It would be a great accomplishment," Parker said. "We're focused for this one. I think we don't want to get caught about history or legacy or stuff like that. I think we should just focus, you know, on Game 1 and try to win the first game and maybe after the playoffs and after the Finals, we can talk about all that.

"But for both teams, you have a lot of great stuff can happen, but it's a lot of work ahead and Pop has been unbelievable all those years. It's hard to stay at the top for all those years, and so we have a great opportunity to get a championship this year."